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Posts Tagged Kaze Hikaru

Review: Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 21)

Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 21)

Manga-ka: Taeko Watanabe
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2013

Synopsis: “After Hijikata grows suspicious of Soji’s feelings about Sei, he reassigns Sei to the third troop under Saito’s command. Soji, puzzled by his own recent irrational behavior toward Sei, attempts to distance himself from her. Sei, in turn, interprets this as Soji’s realization of her feelings for him and decides that she can no longer serve as a bushi alongside him. She goes to visit Suigetsuni, a nun who knew Sei in her former life as a girl, to discuss renouncing the world and entering the convent!”

Waiting a year for any new volume of a series is painful, but when it’s one as charming as Kaze Hikaru it’s all the more sad. At least it’s a credit to the series that even a twelve month wait is little match for the memorable nature of these characters. They feel as familiar now as they did the last time a new book came out. Sometimes, though, things can feel a bit too familiar and while the turmoil of Kamiya/Sei’s love and Soshi’s naivety continues to be the series’ driving force, there is such thing as having too much of a good thing.

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Super Savings: Viz Media Bids Farewell to Summer With Digital Deals

Super Savings: Viz Media Bids Farewell to Summer With Digital Deals

Viz Media is offering a silver lining to the dwindling days of summer with a sale on their digital manga. Until September 5, 2013, all their titles available on VizManga.com and its apps, plus the NOOK tablets, are 20% off. This means that their standard pricing of $4.99/US per book drops to $3.99/US. For an entire volume of manga? That’s pretty darn good!

While I’m always an advocate for buying the hardcopy books, the sad part of print reality is that some are just not possible to find anymore. However, Viz Media has been pushing out digital editions of a lot of older series, alongside simultaneous releases of their new ones. This is great for finally being able to read a lot of out of print titles.

Some of my recommendations from the out-of-print category include Red River, Please Save My Earth, The Cain Saga, and – one of my absolute favourites – Kaze Hikaru. Viz Media currently boasts a “library of over 1,500 volumes across 130+ series”. Get ’em while they’re cheap(er)!


On The Shelf: August 7, 2013

On The Shelf: August 7, 2013

Happy Birthday to me! Well, belated. Sort of. This week’s shipping day, August 7th, just so happened to be my birthday, and what a birthday it was! This week was a huge one for new manga – thanks predominantly to Viz Media –  and among the spoils were some of my favourite series still running.

Notables for me included Toriko (Vol. 17), the final volume of Bakuman, A Devil and Her Love Song (Vol. 10), Kamisama Kiss (Vol. 13) and the very long awaited Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 21), a title that only comes out once a year! Plenty to choose from. Seek, read and enjoy~

A Certain Scientific Railgun (Vol. 08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
A Devil and Her Love Song (Vol. 10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bakuman (Vol. 20) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dance in the Vampire Bund Omnibus (Vol. 03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Happy Marriage!? (Vol. 01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kamisama Kiss (Vol. 13) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 21) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kimi ni Todoke (Vol. 17) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kitaro [Amazon CAN, Amazon US]
Knights of Sidonia (Vol. 04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Library Wars: Love & War (Vol. 10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Naruto (Vol. 62) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol. 16) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Otomen (Vol. 16) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon Adventures: Heart Gold and Soul Silver (Vol. 01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon: Black and White (Vol. 11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Rosario + Vampire Season II (Vol. 12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Slam Dunk (Vol. 29) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tegami Bachi (Vol. 14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Sacred Blacksmith (Vol. 02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Wallflower (Vol. 31) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Toriko (Vol. 17) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
World War Blue (Vol. 02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Review: Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 20)

Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 20)

Manga-ka: Taeko Watanabe
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “Hijikata decides to make use of Kamiya’s feminine features and sends “him” out dressed as a woman on a spy mission. Her assignment: to ascertain the whereabouts of the notorious enemy leader Sakamoto Ryoma. Soji, left in the dark about the secret mission, sets off to find Kamiya. The two get more than they bargained for when they come face-to-face with the enemy himself!”

Be still my beating heart and gleeful cheers; after a long year of waiting we finally have a new volume of Kaze Hikaru. The decisions in the previous volume set in motion potentially dire events for Kamiya as a photographer arrives to deliver the finished product of her day out with Soji. What it results in is a volume full of humour and heart, most notably both from Soji, who is being forced to confront his own feelings a lot sooner than he’s likely ready for. We’re quite ready for it though!

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